Meaning of Cards
by CosmicHorse
Summary: Before, during and after, she has been his queen and he her joker. A series of semi one-shots surrounding the Joker and my OC Eris. Joker/OC rated T for safety
1. Chapter 1

Meaning of Cards

Start: 7/31/2012 Finish: 8/24/2012

Summary: Before, during and after, she has been his queen and he her joker. A short story surrounding the Joker and my OC Eris. Joker/OC

Chapter 1 ~ Ace

Ace of Hearts: Change in feelings and emotions

Before it all began, he was with her. Her name was Eris, like the Greek goddess of chaos. His name was Jack. He would one day be called the Joker, but not now. Not yet. They met in a PTSD meeting. She was there for her brother while he was there alone. She sat next to him. "Hi there." She said, giving him a small smile.

Jack looked up, showing her scars. She didn't gasp in horror at them. He nodded his acknowledgement. The group leader stood up and began the conversation. "Alright, let's get started… anyone want to go first?" he asked, looking around at all the faces.

The woman next to Jack stood up. "I'll go." She said.

"Alright. What's your name and why are you here?" the leader asked, sitting back down.

"My name is Eris and I'm here for my brother." She said, looking at her elder brother.

"Hi Eris." The rest of the group said, even Jack.

Her brother stood next. "I'm Jon… I'm here because… my parents were murdered…" he said, his voice quiet and unsure of himself.

"Hi Jon." The group said.

The rest of the group went in turn. Finally, it was Jack's turn. He stood, glancing through his dirty blonde hair at Eris. "I'm Jack." He said, keeping his face down and his hair covering his face. "I'm here because my dad cut up my face." He finished and sat quickly.

"Hi Jack." The group said, but the only voice that Jack heard was Eris'.

So they met. Over the weeks of therapy, they grew closer. Eris never shied away from his scars. Her personality wouldn't allow it. She was always happy, always smiling. They only time that her smile faded was when they were in therapy and her brother would talk about their parents' death. They helped each other cope with their traumas. Her brother abruptly moved away from their town, heading to the big city of Gotham. She never saw him again. He wrote once, saying that he was doing fine and had become a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. Eris and Jack's relationship blossomed. They eventually moved into an apartment together. Utilizing his skill with knifes, Jack became a wood carver, making fancy picture frames and other luxury things. They actually sold and Jack's earning alone could keep the pair of them in their apartment.

But Eris refused to become a stay-at-home-girlfriend. Her passion for helping others landed her a job in Child Protective Services. She excelled at the work, but was always on call, making her hours rather strange. And the people she dealt with were even stranger… and even dangerous. She had received various threats from disgruntle people who, while helping kids, had been outed with illegal drugs, smuggling, murders, robbery and even mob activity. It was her brazen actions against child abuse and endangerment.

"I have to go." She said, early one morning.

"What for?" he asked, groggily sitting up.

"Got a call." She said, slipping into black slacks. "Child porn ring just got busted."

Jack nodded and rose from the bed as well. He stepped into a pair of grey sweats and walked her to the door. She stopped in the doorway and gave him a wild kiss, promptly waking the sleepy man. "I shouldn't take long." She whispered, resting her forehead against his own.

"I'll see you in the afternoon then." He replied, kissing her forehead.

She sighed and kissed both his scars. It was their ritual every time she left. She would kiss his scars and he would kiss her lips. She whispered against his lips, "I love you."

He buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I love you too." He replied, kissing her neck.

Eris sighed happily and left their apartment. Jack locked the door behind her and stumbled back to bed, relishing the feeling of her soft lips against his scars. He flopped onto the bed and fell asleep again. He awoke a few hours later and dressed for the day. Over his graphic T-shirt and working jeans, Jack put on his leather woodworkers vest. His various knifes and carving tools lay in their own pockets while scraps of sandpaper and small bottles of wood varnish had their own. Eris had gotten the vest for him for his birthday some years back. He absolutely loved it because it showed her devotion to him and to his profession. He picked up some of his orders. A few picture frames, a rocking chair, and a desk.

On his work bench, there was a little box. He had carved the box with tiny roses and delicate hearts onto the mahogany lid. For how beautiful the box was, what lay inside that was his true work of art. A slim ring of pure cherry wood lay in a bed of red velvet. He had gone out to a jewelry shop and bought an imperfect diamond. The person helping him had a horrified look on his face because of his scars. He kept his shopping trip short, just buying the creamy gem. He carefully carved the solid piece of wood into a delicate and smooth ring. The real challenge came from setting the gem into the ring. Sighing and shaking his head at the excruciating work that he put into that ring, Jack started working on the desk.

Noon passed rather quickly and no sign or call from Eris. He finished the rough desk when there came a rapid knock at the door. He pocketed a carving knife and walked to the door. On the other side were two police officers. "Jack Napier?" one of them asked.

"What do you want?" he asked, leaning in the doorway.

"May we come in?" he asked; Jack moved out of the doorway and they entered.

Jack shut the door with an accidental slam. The officers faced him again. "Do you know an Eris Crane?" he asked.

"Yeah." Jack said, taking off his vest. "She's my girlfriend. She went out on a call but should be home soon."

"Did she say where she was going?" the officer asked.

"No." Jack replied. "She just said that a child porn ring got busted and that they needed her."

The officers looked at each other. "Mr. Napier, there has been an incident." The other officer said, making Jack stiffen.

"What happened?" Jack asked, "Where's Eris?"

"There was never a busted porn ring." The officer said.

"Where is Eris?" Jack asked, his voice getting very low.

"We're sorry Mr. Napier." The officer replied. "We found her body in an alley near First and Maple."

The officers might have said more to Jack, but he didn't hear them. Nothing mattered anymore. One thing however, did stick with him. "…we believe that is may have been a mob hit…"

The officers finished talking and silence filled the room. Jack didn't say anything, just walked to the door and opened it. The officers left and Jack locked the door behind them. He slowly walked to the bathroom, braced himself on the sink and looked into the mirror. He saw himself, his scars… the scars that Eris kissed everyday she left…Jack felt a rage build in him and he smashed his fist into the mirror. His rage continued and soon, their apartment was trashed, the desk he spent hours working on was nothing but a pile of scrap when he was done with it. His enraged brown eyes landed on the small mahogany box. He carefully opened the box and took the ring out. He carried the ring into their bedroom and flung open the closet.

The purple dress suit that he had bought on a dare hung against her dresses. He placed the ring into the pocket before tearing off his clothing and donning the suit. He took up all his knives and put them into his pockets. He passed by the bathroom again, he noticed one of Eris' long necklaces. He grabbed the silver chain and thread the ring around it before putting the chain around his neck, tucking it safely against his heart. Then, in a flurel of purple fabric, he abandoned the apartment. Into the night he went, revenge on his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 ~ King

King of Spades: Authoritarian, stubborn, unemotional

It didn't take him long to find the mob. It took even a shorter time to kill them. He moved on, getting more and more detached. He moved to Gotham, donned his new persona. He was no longer Jack Napier, lover of Eris, woodworker. He had become the Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime. He encountered the mob first. "This town deserves a better class of criminal, and I'm gonna give it to 'em. Tell your men they work for me now. This is my city!" the Joker told the mob boss, after setting a huge pile of money on fire.

He wanted to prove to the world that nobody was above anybody else. Maybe that's why he went after Harvey Dent. The White Knight… "I took Gotham's "White Knight", and brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. See, madness, as you know, is like gravity: all it takes is a little push!" the Joker told the Batman as he hung upside down.

He laughed. The cops came and took him into custody. He wouldn't escape this time. He didn't want to. They took him to Arkham Asylum where her brother had worked and was now an inmate. He was in seclusion, giggling and chuckling to himself. His psychiatrist was always talking, filling his head with nonsense. All he wanted was her again. Finally, he could not take that man's drabble anymore. He had finally dreamt of her.

It was a memory. Of the last time he saw her. "I have to go…" she said, her voice quiet… distant.

"What for?" he heard himself asking, sitting up in their bed.

"…a busted child porn ring…" she replied, her voice growing softer and more distant.

He stood up and she headed towards the door. It suddenly flew open and he was standing there. Jack watched as the Joker gunned her down, laughing all the while. The Joker looked up and their eyes locked. They merged into one being, both Jack and the Joker. Both looked down at the dead body of Eris. She suddenly stood and with a smile, she kissed his scars before bursting into a flurry of white butterflies. They flew away, but one, a vivid red one, landed on his shoulder.

He awoke violently. It was all a dream. He could still see her face as the psychiatrist talked on and on. Jack and Joker bolted up, their chains jerking against their wrists. "Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her… I'd give up all the world to see that little piece of heaven looking back at me." He yelled, Jack breaking free from the Joker.

Just as quickly as Jack was free, the Joker took over again. "I've gotta live with the choices I made and I can't live with myself today."

And the laughing started again. Even more powerful and hysterical than before. "I took care of it… I took care of it…" he began muttering.

The psychiatrist asked, "Took care of what?"

The laughing suddenly stopped. "The mob of course." The Joker replied, smacking his lips.

"Why did you need to take care of them?" the doctor asked.

"They took her from me." Jack replied. "So he made me." The Joker finished.

"Her?" the doctor asked, noting the split personality.

"Eris… my goddess of chaos…" Jack and the Joker replied.

The psychiatrist noted this as well. "They killed her…" the Joker said, "… so I killed them." Jack finished as the Joker broke out into laughter again.

"I killed them all." The Joker laughed.

The orderlies entered the cell, restraining the man. The psychiatrist exited the room to find Commissioner Gordon. "We've had a slight break through." The doctor said.

"How so?" Gordon asked, crossing his arms and looking through the glass at the now sedated criminal.

"He is connected to some woman named Eris. He also seems to have developed the Joker persona. There is another being under the makeup and destruction." The doctor reported.

Gordon sighed deeply and left the asylum. He walked towards his patrol call when his cell phone rang. "Gordon." He said, flipping the phone one.

"Commissioner, there is some woman here looking for you." His secretary said on the other line. "She's been here every day for a week."

"What's her name?" Gordon asked, getting into his car and starting the engine.

There was a pause, his secretary probably asking the woman's name. "She says it's Eris Crane."

Gordon suddenly shut his phone, turned on his sirens and lights, and speeding off to his office. The Joker, through his drugged haze, looked out the small window in his padded cell. The sun shown bright through the glass. There, he saw it again; a flash of vibrant red. A single red butterfly. Jack smiled… "Hey Eris…" he whispered as the butterfly flew away.

It fluttered into the sky, disappearing in the glare of the cheerful sun and the immense sky.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 ~ Queen

Queen of Hearts: Homebody, loving, supportive

Eris had received a call. But, it wasn't what she was expecting. She suddenly became a witness to a mob crime. The Witness Protection Agency took over her life, taking her away, faking her death. She pleaded to them. "I need Jack." She said.

"Is he your husband?" the agent asked very calmly.

Eris paused. "No…" she said.

"Then there is nothing we can do." The agent replied.

Eris fell silent. They changed her name to Cathy Barrows and sent her to Gotham. They made her a secretary for some big wig company. They made sure that she was safe but they never cared. They didn't even care when she brought her son into the world. Little Jackson Crane looked just like his father. She lived through the terror of her brother turning into a monster. There was nothing she could do. In her grief, she broke her television. Her job barely made enough to cover rent and food costs. She couldn't afford a T.V. That's how she never knew about the Joker. She heard him through the radio as newscasters painted his horrors.

She never saw his face. If she had, everything might have turned out differently. The agents had told her not to take anything from her past but she did anyway. It was a single picture that she kept under her bed. It was the only picture of her and Jack. They were in a bright, sunny field. He had wrapped his arms around her shoulders. The sun was shaded by numerous white butterflies. A single red one had fluttered around her head just before this picture was taken. Their smiles were true. She pulled out that picture every night. It wasn't until she accidentally read her boss' paper that she realized. Taking the paper, she brought it home with her.

Going to the picture under her bed, she compared the two faces. "My god…" she said, dropping both onto the small bed. "Jack…"

She collapsed and cried. Eris wept. She wept for herself, for her lost Jack, and finally for all those she could have saved. Had she only known… She heard Jackson at the door. He had just turned three. "Mama." He said.

Eris whipped her eyes and attended to her son. After tucking the toddler into his bed, Eris returned to her room for sleep. That night, she had the strangest dream.

It was their last night together. She had gotten the call. "I have to go." She said, getting dressed.

"What for?" Jack asked, his voice distant.

"Got a call." She said, slipping into black slacks. "Child porn ring just got busted."

Jack nodded and stood. He wasn't… right… as she went to the door, it was shoved opened and she was shot. Her pale green eyes were still opened as she saw her killer and Jack merge into one person. Suddenly, he burst into white butterflies. They flew away except on, single, vibrant red one, that one landed on her and she was alive again.

Eris bolted up in her bed, panting and crying. She swung her legs over the bed and stood. On the floor was the news article. The title said something about the Joker being arrested. Eris looked up into the mirror. She didn't see Cathy Barrows. She saw Eris Crane. Eris turned sharp and threw open her closet. Taking out a pair of dark wash jeans and a purple T-shirt with a cute green butterfly on it, she stepped into her black Converse before grabbing her long black duster jacket and purse. She woke up Jackson and dressed the sleepy boy. He insisted that he bring his stuffed bear with him. They fled the apartment and walked all the way to the police station. "I need to see Commissioner Gordon please." She said, putting Jackson onto the floor and leaning over the secretary desk.

"He's busy now." The lady behind the desk said, not even looking up.

"Please." Eris pleaded.

"Call and make an appointment." The secretary said.

Eris sighed angrily and stormed out of the building. Each day, she returned numerous times and asked to see Gordon. Each day, each time she was denied. Finally, the secretary got fed up with the same mouse brown haired woman with her son coming into the police station many times daily and asking the same thing. She held up a finger and started to dial a number. "Commissioner, there is some woman here looking for you." she said. "She's been here every day for a week."

There was a pause and the secretary leaned forward. "What's your name?"

Eris paused. Give up who she really was and risk the wrath of the mob or try and help Jack… "Eris Crane." Eris replied, earning a few strange looks form nearby police officers.

"Eris Crane." The secretary said.

She looked at her phone, a confused look on her face. "He hung up." She said, placing the phone back into the receiver.

"Is he on his way?" Eris asked.

"I don't know." The secretary snapped.

Eris growled and started to leave the station when Gordon came racing in. "Eris Crane. Where is she?" he asked, breathing hard.

The secretary pointed to Eris. She had stopped and turned. Gordon turned to face her. Eris Crane looked like a bad joke. Her jeans were worn at the knees and dirty around the pant legs. Her dingy purple shirt with a green butterfly on it was almost hidden under her oversized black duster. Her hair was a bit tangles and she looked like she hadn't slept in a week. Her son looked in better shape than his mother. "Eris Crane?" Gordon asked, walking towards her.

"Commissioner Gordon?" she asked, meeting him half way.

"Come with me." Gordon said, gently taking her arm and guiding her to his office.

"Sit down, please." He said, closing the door and shutting the blinds behind him.

"I…" Eris began as she sat down. "I came about the Joker." Jackson climbed into her lap.

"The Joker?" Gordon asked, sitting at his desk.

Eris pulled out the picture of her and Jack and the newspaper picture. She placed them side by side on Gordon's desk. Gordon looked at the pictures. "This is him." He breathed.

"His name is Jack Napier." Eris began. "He was born on April 4th, 1979. His father was a drinker and his mother was a battered wife. His father cut up his face in a drunken rage."

"How do you know him?" Gordon asked, gently placing the pictures back onto his desk.

"He was my boyfriend." Eris said, reaching for her picture. "We met in a PTSD group therapy session. I was with my brother, for our parents' murder. After my brother moved here, we moved in together. Jack became a woodcarver while I worked in Child Protective Services."

Gordon listened carefully. "What happened?" he asked.

Her face fell a bit. "I witnessed something to do with the mob. The Witness Protection Agency moved me here. I wanted Jack to come with me but we weren't married. They separated us."

Gordon nodded, feeling a bit sorry for this woman.

"Can I see him?" she asked, clutching her picture to her chest.

"Oh… I don't know." Gordon said.

Eris' face fell. "oh…" she said, looking down.

Gordon sighed and looked at the picture of the Joker and back up to the woman. "I'll see what I can do." He said, making her look up.

Eris smiled, feeling better than she had all week. Jackson had fallen asleep on his mother's lap. He didn't know that his father and mother would be meeting fairly soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 ~ Jack

Jack of Clubs: Lucky, charming

Gordon had secured a meeting for Eris and the Joker. He escorted Eris into the asylum. They stopped just outside the cell were the Joker was under heavy guard and chained to his bolted chair. Jackson was passed from Eris and to Gordon. The toddler had grown to like the commissioner. "If you ever feel uncomfortable, just say that you want out." Gordon said, giving Eris a smile.

She nodded and the door opened. The Joker looked up. A small woman entered, her pale green eyes piercing his own. His jaw hung slack as his Eris stood in the doorway. She smiled. "Hi Jack." She said, entering the room.

He didn't speak. Eris sat. A tense moment passed. "You're dead." The Joker whispered.

"I know." She said, her voice softening. "I have a lot to explain."

"We have time." Jack said, looking up to her eyes.

"The mob. I saw one of their crimes. The Witness Protection Program put me here. I wanted you to come with me but they wouldn't allow it." Eris explained.

Jack was silent. "I never stopped thinking about you." She said, drawing out their picture.

She stood and tried to hand it to him. He suddenly moved, snatching her left wrist. There was a tense moment but Jack quickly dug around under his shirt. The guards moved closer but Eris waved them off. He pulled out a carved wooden ring. He ripped the necklace off and fiddled with the chain. He slipped the ring onto her finger. "Marry me." He whispered.

"Yes." Eris said.

He let go of her wrist and she sat back down. "They want me to ask you about the Joker." She said, scooting her chair closer.

"I'm sure they do." Jack said, the Joker creeping out.

Eris smirked. "but I don't want to." She said, making Jack glance at the window. "I want to talk about you…"

"go ahead." Jack said, shifting in his chair.

Eris paused. Taking the smooth ring in her fingers, she asked, "Did you carve this?"

"Who else would?" Jack asked.

"Why?" she asked, trying to meet his eyes.

"Why?" Jack asked, a bit insulted. "I love you Eris. I want you to be my wife." He roared, standing up and making everyone in that room and behind the glass jump back, "Then you just had to go and die!" the Joker yelled, shaking in his chains.

"I never wanted them to fake my own death!" Eris yelled back, standing up as well. "And you're one to talk, Mr. I'm going to turn into some psychopath and bring chaos to Gotham."

"You don't even know what I've done!" He roared back.

"Like hell I don't!" Eris yelled. "I can't walk down the street without people talking about the Joker. It's ridiculous! Every time they would saw bad things about you, I wanted to punch them in the mouth!" Jack took a step back from her words. "I never stopped thinking about you Jack. Never ever."

Jack and Eris looked at each other. "If you don't deal with the Joker, we can never be together." She whispered, taking a step closer to him.

"I made the Joker for you." Jack said, taking her hands. "He just took over."

"I know Jack." Eris said, "But you have to stop him now."

With that, she paused before gently kissing his lips. Before he could respond, she moved to his cheek and kissed his scar. Jack stiffened but Eris moved back to his lips, planting another soft kiss there. She kissed his other scar, again, returning to his lips. Once she pulled back, Jack sighed. "Will you try?" Eris asked, bringing his hands to her lips. "Will you try for me?"

Jack sighed again, releasing one of her hands and reaching for her chin. "I'll try." He said with a smile.

Eris smiled as well. She reached behind her and drug her chair closer. Jack sat down and their knees touched. They continued on, talking about non-important things. Eventually, the time that Gordon had gotten for Eris was up. He entered. "Times up." He said, making her and Jack look over at him.

"I don't want you to go." He said, holding her hands tighter.

"I don't want to either." She said, returning his hand strength. "But I have to."

Jack sighed and slowly released her hands. Eris stood and headed towards the door. She stopped and turned back to face Jack. "I don't know when I'll be able to come back." She said, making Jack stand up. "Commissioner fought to get me here. I don't have a job anymore and the Witness Protection Program will most likely move me again."

"Why?" he asked.

"I might still be in danger from the mob, even if you took them all out, their others of their organization might come after me." Eris explained.

Jack hung his head. "I'll try Jack. I'll try as hard as I can to stay here and see you again. I'll do anything I can to get back to you." She said, making him look up.

Eris gave him a smile which he returned. "I love you Jack." She said.

"I love you to Eris." Jack replied as she left.

Jackson had squirmed out of Gordon's hand and rushed into Eris' legs. "Mama, it's scary here." He said as Eris scooped the boy up.

"Who's that?" he asked, pointing to Jack.

Eris looked at Gordon for a moment and the commissioner nodded. "That's your father Jackson." Eris said, walking back towards Jack.

"Papa!" Jackson cheered reaching for Jack.

"No no Jackson." Eris said. "Papa can't hold you right now."

The toddler nodded and sucked his arms back. "Jack, this is our son, Jackson." Eris said.

"Our son…" Jack whispered, looking over his son.

"Hi Papa." Jackson said, waving at Jack. "mama, what happened to his face?"

Eris stiffened. "Bad men hurt Papa." She said, looking over to Jack.

"Did it hurt?' Jackson asked.

"Yes." Jack replied. "But they don't hurt anymore. Mama kissed away the pain."

"Mama does that for me all the time." Jackson said with a large smile.

Gordon couched. "We have to go now." Eris said with a sad look to Jack.

"O.K. Mama." Jackson said. "Will Papa come with us?"

"No Jackson." Eris said. "Papa has to stay here. But we will try and come back."

"O.K. Mama." Jackson said and as Eris moved off, he said over her shoulder, "Bye bye Papa."

"Bye Jackson." Jack said.

Eris looked back and blew him a kiss and mouthed 'I love you.'


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 ~ 10

10 of Hearts: Home atmosphere remains happy

Eris was right. The Witness Protection Program moved her. She fought tooth and claw to stay in Gotham. But the agents convinced her, for Jackson's safety, to move out of Gotham and into a small town near Gotham. She refused to change their names and kept in touch with Gordon. He was using all his power to keep Eris and Jackson visiting Jack. Since their first visit, Eris was only allowed to visit him once. The last time, the media swarmed the asylum, questioning her on everything. Gordon quickly rushed her home. Eris decided that it wasn't safe for her to return to Gotham.

She contacted her agents and said that she wanted out of the program. She signed all the papers to get out of the program. As soon as the agents left, Eris sat down and filed some other paperwork. She put the small house up for sale, found another one in Alabama. She packed up all her things and moved herself and her son done there. Once they settled, Eris wrote two letters. One to Gordon, telling him where they had gone, and another to Jack.

Gordon entered his office and saw an envelope addressed to him from Alabama. He opened the letter and read.

_Dear James,_

_It's Eris. I just wanted you to know that Jackson and I have moved away. I found a job and am doing well. Jackson is in school and adjusting well. You have been so kind and good to us, I just didn't want you to think that we had been killed. We haven't. I'm also enclosing a letter for Jack. It's rather personal and I would rather not have it read before he did. It's nothing bad or explicit. It's fairly similar to this letter. I don't want him to think that we've abandoned him._

_Thank you so much for everything that you've done for me and Jack. I know and hope that he's behaving himself. Keep me on your mind, because you have been such a positive influence in my life. You have been like a father to me and a role model for Jackson. He wants to be a police officer now and, someday, a commissioner. Take care of yourself and the Batman character._

_ Eris and Jackson_

In the envelope, there was a smaller envelope, simply addressed to Jack. Gordon pocketed the letter and headed to the asylum. Jack was doing well. For Eris, he tried so desperately to get a handle over the Joker with much success. He participated in his therapy sessions and often replied civilly. He preferred to discuss his time with Eris and how much he loved her rather than his actions as the Joker. Gordon had even sat down with the man and had a conversation with him.

Gordon drove to the asylum and went to see Jack. "Hello commissioner." Jack said with a smile.

"Hello Jack." Gordon said, reaching in to his coat pocket. "Eris sent this to me for you."

Jack reached for the envelope but Gordon tipped it away from him. "You have to read it here. Then I have to read it." Gordon said.

Jack nodded and held his hands out for the letter. Gordon put the letter into his hands. Jack promptly ripped open the envelope and a picture fell out. Jack caught the picture and looked at it. It was Eris and Jackson, standing outside a small cottage, smiling happily. He smiled and turned to the letter.

_Dear Jack,_

_I'm not expecting you to be able to write back to me. I just wanted to tell you that Jackson and I moved to Alabama. Don't you dare think that our move was because of you. I just had to get away from the city. If I could, I would have taken you with me. But I couldn't. You're still in prison. I'm trying to keep in touch with you and do plan on coming up whenever they will let me._

_Jackson asks about you fairly often. I try to keep him away from the harshness of the Joker until you can tell him about him yourself. Sometimes he gets teased at school for not having a dad, but he's a little trooper. He knows that you do exist and that I care so deeply for you._

_I got a job and Jackson is in school. We're doing just fine, but I miss you. I hope that you like the picture. It's our new house. The neighbor next door planted all the flowers when she heard that we were moving in. She's a sweet old lady and Jackson really likes her. Unknown to us, the house came with a cat. He's a little grey kitten. We found him in the basement, skinny and shivering. Jackson named him Gotham._

_We love you Jack._

_ Eris and Jackson_

Jack handed the letter to Gordon and gazed at the picture. The house was very small but surrounded by hundreds of flowers of all different colors. Eris looked in perfect health and Jackson looked just fine. There was a little grey kitten in the boy's arms. Jack smiled at his family. Gordon handed the letter back to him. He left shortly after that. Jack was escorted back to his cell, letter and picture were tucked safely in his jumpsuit. That night, he looked at the picture. He noticed a corner of the picture was folded back.

He turned the picture over and an address was written on the back of the picture. Jack looked up, his heart racing. Flipping the picture back over, he looked over the faces. He began chuckling, not his normal Jack chuckle, but the Joker's laugh. He kept himself quiet, plotting.

Gordon was the first on the scene. "How the hell did he get out?" he shouted, racing towards Jack's cell.

The door was open, unlocked after the explosion. The far wall was gone, exploded away. Jack's jumpsuit was hanging up on an exposed rebar. "We don't know sir." The responding officer replied.

"Do we know where he is?" Gordon asked, looking over the room.

"No." the officer said, "He's just gone."

Gordon walked over to the blown wall. He looked into the night, trying to see the running man. But Jack was long gone. He had used the Joker persona to escape and they had agreed to get to Eris. The Joker knew that Jack cared deeply for the woman. With her, Jack no longer needed him. The Joker would give up, letting himself and Jack have some peace. He would be back, but not for a while.

It took three months for Jack to get to Alabama. He kept his head down, hiding his scars. Finally, he made it to their address. It was a small neighborhood in a small town. He walked slowly down the sidewalk, looking over the address. There, the large flower garden had crept over the white picket fence. The large oak tree gave the porch shaded while a gentle sun graced the house. He got to the gate, looking to the bright red door. He could see in the window. Eris was at the sink, washing dishes. A grey cat leapt onto the counter, looking out at Jack. Eris laughed and went to the cat, looking out the window.

She paused, not believing her eyes. Jack's heart leapt to his throat as she moved to the door. It opened, revealing her whole body. She was in a black tank top and kaki beach shorts. Standing in the doorway, she looked just about perfect. She descended the steps and went to the gate. She opened the gate and stood in front of him. "Gordon called, said that you had gotten out." She said, her voice soft.

"Have they been here?" Jack asked, shoving his hand in to his pockets.

"When you first got out. But not since." Eris said. "I'm supposed to call if I see you…"

"But you won't." he said.

"Not if you stay." Eris said, smiling up at him.

Jack smiled and took her face. He kissed her deeply. They broke apart and she led him into their home. Jackson raced down the stairs and launched himself into Jack's arms. The man was caught off guard but quickly recovered. The cat, Gotham, rubbed against his leg as Eris went over to them. Jack wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her closer. '_Have fun with this Jack._' The Joker said in his mind. _'I helped you get here, so enjoy it. I'll be needing you again. You owe me._'

[**AN**: And maybe, if I get some suggestions, there may be a sequel. Thanks for reading! ~Cosmic Horse]


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